Trial of the Alchemist

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

A mind-bending gaslamp mystery. ThinkInceptionmeetsThe Night Circus.

Aurora’s greatest entrepreneur has been murdered, and only the truth will save Alchemist Ortez from the gallows.

Facing a heated courtroom of strangers, he must now recall the events that brought him here as a fellow alchemist probes his memory. Such is the job of alchemists: administering elixirs in order to see into the minds of men. Their dreams. Their nightmares. Their secrets.

But while everyone believes him guilty, Alchemist Ortez knows what they do not.

He was hired by the victim for a job unlike any they could imagine. Nor would they ever guess what other mysteries lie buried beneath the mountain metropolis of Aurora, a cave-enclosed city where countless gas lamps illuminate the endless night.

This story is now a stub, but you can read my new Royal Road series,Sailor's Rise.

If you would like to keep readingTrial of the Alchemist, you can do so onAudible(Canadian link) orKindle(including Kindle Unlimited). Thank you!

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2022
Author: Dremen

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.7/ 5.0
Followers: 504
Views: 38,166

Chapters(10 total)

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

ldnickerRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I found myself binge reading this incredibly well written mystery. The author has great skill in developing his characters, and paints intricate verbal pictures of a time and place like no other. I find myself recreating these skillfully written places in my mind. Indeed each chapter is so well constructed that the reader is able to see each scene in great detail as they are so elegantly written. I simply cannot put it down and truly hope to see a sequel as I shall miss this delicious read when it is done.
The story is imaginative and original, with a style unlike any I have previously encountered. The story line is highly engaging, weaving back and forth through time, but never losing its audience. In fact it draws them further in. Grammar is elegant and the characters are all interesting and multidimensional. The story of the Alchemist is a story inside a story. The character is both strong and vulnerable and the notion of wiping one’s mind clean in order to learn this work is both troubling and fascinating at the same time. The delicacy and description of the potions and effect they have on both the Alchemist and his subjects is a remarkable and a bit scary concept. Overall style, story, grammar and character development are very advanced and most engaging.
A solid 5 Star read that will delight anyone who has the good fortune to dive into this piece of mystery fiction.
Confused Pigeon NoisesRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Only having recently discovered this story, I binged all thirty-ish chapters in a night. This is a fantastic story, a different taste from usual RR stories as it takes place in a industrial revolution in a fantasy world, where alchemy bridges the mind of man, animal, and memory. A unique story with great characters and world building.
farcar4Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
While definetly not your average progression fantasy story, and more in line with steampunk mystery, this story has wonderful character, a world with just enough details to believe in it and leave you with a desire for more, and a well plotted, and an astonishingly well written story. If you have ever read a dan brown type of mystery novel book, this story could well be compared with them, with the only exception that this story is original in a way that those cut and paste stories will never be.
10/10
A Reader For FunRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
A very unique and thought-provoking piece of writing. The characters were really fleshed out, the author did a good job protraying each character's thoughts and goals. The interactions between the main casts were very enjoyable and flows smoothly. The grammer was without a doubt exquisite. The writing style is appropriate and works as intended. Moreover, the plot was simlpy exciting with ample twists, it consistently keeps me entertained and wanting to read the next chapters. Overall, it is an amazing work by the author.
Hoping to read more of your work!
Galia47Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Fantastic read, so glad I stumbled upon this story. Looking forward to continuing this incredibly intriguing tale. Now I have to trick myself into forgetting it exists until there are more chapters available, curse of being a fast reader.
Different from most stories I've encountered, which makes it absolutely delicious. Not what was expected, refreshing, to say the least.
Wonderfully written ❤️
RoyalEclipseRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Tldr: Its good. The pacing is nice, the prose flows well and the story is intriguing with some lovely twists.
First of all the grammar is immaculate and the pacing well executed, the story did not feel rushed and neither did it crawl along for chapters on end. Those are the technical details, now the more subjective points.
Simply put the story is of a higher quality than what I've come to expect from royal road, dare I say professional even. The mc is likeable and realistically written, the "magic system", in this case, mostly alchemy, is thought out and suitably soft, lending itself to the overall mystery vibr quite nicely.
The rest of the characters are likewise developed, thought out, and although they perhaps did not get as much "screen time" as I would like, that is mostly due to the overall length of the novel and thus understandable. In fact I would say it speaks volumes about the quality of the book, when the biggest negative I can find is that it is too short and left me wanting more.
The ending is alltogether satisfying and the mysteries twist and convolute, slowly teasing apart only to be unraveled in a spectacular fashion by the end.
The book is well paced, suitably mysterious and just a blast all around.
SemaphorRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Really enjoyable so far. Found this story on Reddit, where the author said it's already finished and now being released serially - and you can tell. The pacing of the story really draws you in. The mystery has unfolded really nice until now. Every new answer creates further questions. The only thing I would like to see more of are some explanations about what the mechanics of this elixir / potion system are.
SniperkingRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I really enjoy this tale. It is very well written and I love the writing style. It is more reminiscent of what I expect from a professionally published novel. Even the bouncing back between the past and present, something I normally abhor, is so well done that I actually look forward to it. This story currently ranks as one of the best things I've ever read on this site and I don't see that changing anytime soon.
That said, read the first chapter and decide if it's for you. If you don't like it I advise you to stop reading.
The ArchavistRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I hate writting reviews but this story deserves one.
Before I say anything that might be a spoiler or might make you not want to read the book just go read it. Get five or ten chapters in and if the writting, characters, or story hasn't hooked you by then, then go read something else.
This book is very different from the majority of books on royal road. It isnt a litrpg or a gamelit or a powerfantasy. Hell, isnt even what i'd call high fantasy. If your tired of the typical books on royal road than I highly recomend this book to give you a breath of fresh air.
TheHuscarlRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
TLDR: Big recommend based on the story and very cool style and premise. If you read solely for characters/character development, maybe skip.
So the premise is this trial where the 'story' is one long recollection.
The prose is very distinct (and keeps up that distinctness, to me it's nice, but to others it might not be).
The story itself is cool with plenty of small surprises/twists that are foreshadowed, and it has the feeling of an approaching end (i kind of hope the story ends slightly after the trial ends, because of the premise).
The characters themselves are kind of 'Glass Onion'-one-dimensional where they're supposed to be a caricature (i think?). What being an alchemist entails makes the MC a bit more interesting, but I don't find his inner struggles very complex or compelling (and predictable from his caricature).
The less relevant characters are super forgettable though. A lot of this probably is just the 'recollection' type of storytelling not lending itself well to doing complex small interactions for everyone.
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So I have to fill out a couple more words Want to repeat that the prose/style is very unique and I like it a lot, and the characters do fit the story as more information being added through them might just stress/distract from the story.